The Matryoshka Shack
by Exotos135
Summary: A mysterious object in a cave causes Dipper, and by extension the rest of the Mystery Shack, into matryoshka dolls and they have to find it again before It's too late.
1. Mystery or Matryoshka?

**First fic of 2015 everybody! A brand new year with new expectations, new episodes coming through it and new ways to defy canon characterization and continuity so we can make our fanfiction the way we desire! MUAHAHAHAHA!**

**...**

**Oh.**

**Did you actually read the last part?**

**Nevermind, don't pay attention to it, move along.**

**Anyway, I start school the 5th day of this month, so updates might be a bit sporadic since I'll be busy. But, I promise all of you that I will do my best to give you the best this year.**

**Everything belongs to their respective owners.**

**Now, with that out of the way, you may read in peace.**

* * *

><p><strong>(Gravity Falls Forest)<strong>

Dipper Pines was walking through the forest, using a flashlight to light up the places that caught his attention. For the most part, all he managed to find was stuff he had seen before: size-altering crystals, gnomes, and other stuff.

However, that changed once Dipper used his flashlight on a cave, going inside to see the interior more clearly: the walls had a purple-ish color and the ground was brown, with a few minerals laying on it. Dipper didn't pay attention to them and he continued until he found something...intriguing.

"What is this thing?" asked Dipper in surprise.

What Dipper was seeing was a large object that had the shape of a matryoshka doll, although it looked more hollow and uncanny than the average matryoshka doll. It was also glowing a white color, further catching the kid's attention.

The instant Dipper touched the matryoshka doll-like thing, his whole body was covered in a white light, with Dipper feeling his body change and get smaller and smaller before being teleported out of the forest. Once that happened, the white glow of the object disappeared, and It's face suddenly formed into a malicious smirk.

**(The Mystery Shack, Dipper and Mabel's Bedroom)**

Once Dipper had arrived back to his room, on the desk with the lamp to be exact, the white light covering him disappeared and showed what had happened to him: he had been turned into a matryoshka doll, though instead of turning into a matryoshka doll that contained gradually smaller dolls inside, he turned into the smallest: the baby-sized doll.

Unaware of what happened to him, Dipper tried to walk, but he instead wobbled since he didn't have any feet. Once he wobbled enough to see the mirror, the sight he got was...one that didn't made him happy, to say the least.

"W-What is this?!" asks the boy in complete shock at his reflection. "What happened?!"

The boy was suddenly disturbed by the sound of the doo being kicked open, turning around to see Mabel being the one who kicked it. The girl went inside as Dipper tried to call her.

"Dipper!" called Mabel, walking and looking around the room as Dipper tried to get her attention. "Dipper I need the book 3 for a moment! I just found something strange in the forest and I wanna see if your book has any information about it!"

The girl got no response...or at least, not a response that was loud enough to get to her ears. "Dipper, where are you?" asked Mabel, looking around before spotting her brother, leaning forward with a raised eyebrow. "When did we got this funny looking doll, and why does it look so much like Dipper?"

"Mabel, it's me!" exclaimed Dipper in frustration.

"Gah! possessed doll who somehow knows me!" screamed the girl in response, quickly grabbing a golf club laying nearby and getting ready to destroy the doll as she spoke. "Die you monster of unknown origin!"

"Wait Mabel, don't do this! It's me, Dipper!" exclaimed Dipper, managing to stop the girl for a brief moment before she got ready to strike. "I can prove it: You have a pair of friends named Candy and Grenda, you were the girlfriend of a puppeteer, and you're older than me by 5 minutes!"

"Oh my goodness, it really is you!" exclaimed Mabel, glancing at her golf club and throwing it away with a sheepish smile before returning to her brother. "Sorry for almost killing you, but you gotta admit that getting scared after hearing my brother's voice from a matryoshka doll is a legitimate response. So anyway, why do you look like a funny-looking doll?"

"I believe they're called matryoshka dolls. And I don't really know." answered Dipper, wobbling back and forth as Mabel looked with an amused expression. "I simply touched a rare artifact and...wait, snap! idea!"

"Why do you say snap?" asked the girl.

"I just remembered I don't have any fingers that I can snap, so I have to say it out loud. Quick! Grab 3 and find a page with a strange object that looks like the doll I became!"

The girl shrugged and did as told, looking around before she managed to find 3 under Dipper's pillow. Sitting on his bed, Mabel started to search the pages in order to find what Dipper required, and it didn't took long before she found the page and showed it to her brother.

"Okay, the name of the object is Nest of Matryoshka." started Dipper. "It's origins are unknown, but the same cannot be said about it's ability. When it shines with a white light, it compels whoever sees it to touch it, and thus they turn into a matryoshka doll and are teleported back to their home. After doing that, it smiles and waits to see what happens to the victim of it's power. If anybody touches the victim, they will turn into a matryoshka doll as well. The only way to turn back after touching the object, is to touch it again, and they will turn back to normal and have a limited time before the object and it's resting place self-destruct...wait what!?"

"So let me get this straight." started Mabel, using a tone that made evident her complete disbelief as she close the book and put it on the bed. "You touched a funny-looking thing, which was in a cave inside the forest. It teleported you back here because this is where you started, and the only way you're gonna be able to turn back, is to touch the crystal again, upon which it will self-destruct along with the cave?"

"That seems to be the case."

"Then I got one single question: WHY DIDN'T YOU BROUGHT THE DARN BOOK SO YOU COULD USE IT BEFORE TOUCHING THE DARN THING?!" scolded Mabel, putting her hands on her hips.

"Mabel, just like how you can be snarky and intelligent instead of an overly idealistic simpleton, I can be stupid and dumb once in a while." answered Dipper in a blunt tone, still looking at the book.

Once Dipper looked at his sister, she was holding a hammer with one hand, while she held a nail on the other. "What was that comment about me being an overly idealistic simpleton?" questioned Mabel, giving the boy a furious glare.

"Nothing! Nothing!" shouted Dipper in a panic, Mabel throwing away the nail and hammer after hearing it. "Either way, the most important thing about this, is that if anybody, human or animal alike touch me, they will also turn into a sentient matryoshka doll! We have to find it as fast as we can!"

"But how are you supposed to go search for the object? You don't even have any feet, you can barely wobble around like gelatin." pointed out Mabel.

"Well, matryoshka dolls are made of wood, so maybe as long as I don't slip or fall from a great distance I'll be fine." replied Dipper, jumping off the desk before finishing. "Huh, I didn't break in pieces! Guess I'll be fine for now."

Mabel got off the bed and grabbed the golf club she held earlier, going to the door and opening it with Dipper wobbling as fast as he could as he followed her to the staircase. "Here we come, downstairs!" exclaimed Mabel in excitement, lifting her golf club high in the air.

**(Meanwhile, downstairs)**

The sound of someone hitting the stairs was heard as the twins got closer to the ground, soon turning out to be Mabel who was making the noise. She hit a few more stairs before landing sprawled on the ground, uttering "ouch" once Dipper accidentally fell on top of her. "Sorry Mabel." apologized Dipper as he got off.

"Well, I did blindly run straight towards a staircase." remarked the girl as she got up, stretching for a bit before resuming. "Now, let's not question why I didn't turn into a doll when you landed on top of me and think about what to do next."

"Hi guys!" greeted a familiar teenager voice.

"Oh hi Wendy!" loudly greeted Mabel as she quickly stepped in front of Dipper to hide him from view. "What are you doing here so early?"

"It's not so early, besides I wanna keep my slacking off record intact." answered Wendy with a proud tone on the second part. "If I slack off another day or two, Stan says I'll get a trophy. He was probably being sarcastic though...Mabel what are you hiding?"

"Hiding? What do you mean?" asked Mabel, making a goofy face and trying to avoid eye contact at the same time.

"You're hiding something behind you, you're even doing the goofy face someone makes when they try to avoid eye contact." remarked Wendy, pointing at the girl's face as she started to sweat.

"I-I'm not-not hiding anything, promise! Nothing is hidden, nothing!" stammered Mabel as she looked around as she thought for an excuse.

Wendy frowned and grabbed the girl, moving her away and leaving Dipper exposed. At first, the girl looked genuinely shocked, but she then let out a loud scream of pure joy as she went closer to the doll.

"Aw, this matryoshka doll based on Dipper is so adorable!" said Wendy, Dipper moving away and blushing as she continued. "I knew Stan liked you two, but I never thought he would make merchandise based on his grand niece and grand nephew. I don't know if it will sell like hot bread, though."

Wendy was about to touch Dipper before Mabel grabbed her arm, pulling her back before she did anything else. "Wendy don't touch it!" requested Mabel, earning a raised eyebrow from the teenager in response. "Stan, uh, told me to deliver it to him as fast as I could."

"Fine, I'll let you take it to him...after I touch it!"

Mabel lets out a "NOOO!" as the teenager touches Dipper, being covered in a white light that soon covered Mabel as well. The girl got smaller and smaller until they had completely, falling to the ground without any damage. Mabel's doll version was slightly bigger than Dipper, and Wendy was bigger than Mabel. "And now we're matryoshka dolls!" exclaimed Mabel in frustration.

"Whoa, what happened?" asked Wendy, looking around.

"You and my sister turned into matryoshka dolls." bluntly stated Dipper.

"Dipper? Is that really you?"

"You used to be girlfriend with a boy named Robbie, I accidentally hit you with a baseball during the carnival and...*sighs* I once sat on your bra." recapped Dipper.

"Well I can't blame you, the store clerk assured me they were soft enough to be confused for-I mean, uh, Dipper!" replied Wendy, wobbling toward him and taking a moment before she remembered her current state. "If I had any arms right now, I would be hugging you. So anyway, why did you became a matryoshka doll?"

As Dipper tried to explain why to the girl, Stan and Soos arrived and saw the three dolls talking, the duo walked to them without the trio noticing. "Really long story that I can't explain you." and then Dipper was touched by Soos and Stan, who got covered in a white light almost immediately. "And now I'm really hating the fact that people are touching me."

And then Stan and Soos became matryoshka dolls, Stan being the biggest while Soos was bigger than Wendy. "Wow, dude, I feel like I was turned into something else!" exclaimed Soos before turning to Stan. "Tell me, do I still look pretty?"

"I would rather not answer that, but you look the same to me, Soos." answered Stan, Soos saying "yes!" in a victorious tone. "So with that out of the way, can anybody explain what just happened?"

"My stupidity turned out to be contagious and you were hit by it, which caused you to touch Dipper over here and in response, you were turned into matryoshka dolls." answered Mabel with a blunt, sarcastic tone. "At least, there are no more people living here outside of Waddles."

"Speaking about him, where is he?" asked Wendy, looking around.

"At the counter over there." answered Dipper, looking up.

The rest turned to the counter, where they saw Waddles casually laying on his back near the cashier. "How did we failed to notice him before?" questioned Soos before turning to the rest. "So, what do we do now?"

"Follow me."

Dipper wobbled until he was near the door, the rest of the matryoshka-transformed shack catching up to him and paying attention as he spoke. "Okay, when the door is opened, we go through it and go to the forest as fast as we can." instructed Dipper as he and the rest waited.

Once the door slightly opened, Dipper shouted "Go!" and the five dolls wobbled out of the store as fast as they could, avoiding a giant foot in the way before the door was closed. The person who came inside was a woman in her 30s with long orange hair, a white lab coat with a red shirt underneath, black pants, white shoes and a pair of blue white glasses.

"So this is the famous Mystery Shack, huh?" remarked the woman as she looked around. "It's more...empty than I expected."

The woman walked to the counter and spotted Waddles immediately, getting an idea that caused her to laugh out loud, startling Waddles in the process. "Hahaha! A pig owning a store, that definitely makes my day!" laughed the woman before introducing herself to Waddles. "Greetings sir, my name's Valerie Zvyozdochkin, but Valerie will be just fine. Anyway, can you guide me through the store? I would like to see some of your merchandise before I buy anything."

Waddles got up and jumped off the desk, running deeper into the store while squealing. The woman, believing that Waddles was starting the tour, giggled as she followed him. "I get the feeling this is gonna be fun!" exclaimed the woman as she catches up with Waddles.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Problems at the City

**(At the Gravity Falls Forest)**

The mystery shack team, having made their way to the forest after being turned into matryoshka dolls, are now jumping up and down instead of wobbling as they search for the cave. Dipper is leading the way while the rest follow him or look around, mostly both at the same time.

"Okay, so, I just have so many questions flowing through my head right now." spoke Wendy, looking around as she listed her questions. "Can we nest inside each other? Are we really made of wood? Will anybody recognize us in these forms?"

"We can answer those questions later. The main priority is to find the main cause of this problem-" spoke Dipper.

"As in your foolishness?" asked Mabel, raising an eyebrow.

"The _other_ main cause of this problem, touch it, and then get out before it self-destructs." finished the boy, giving his older sister a glare before he added, "If only I had my flashlight with me. We would be able to find the cave faster."

"No fingers, remember?" reminded Stan to the boy, who frowns in response.

"We don't have arms either but nobody has mentioned that yet." uttered Soos.

"You just mentioned it, Soos." stated Stan, giving the man a deadpan look.

"Oh, yeah, I did!" exclaimed Soos in oblivious joy.

Everybody halt their movement as they feel something about to happen, and surely enough the ground starts to shake as they turn forward to see a strange shadow going to them. "Somebody's coming!" exclaimed Dipper, turning to the panicked team before he finished. "Quick! Act like you're inanimate figures!"

The team stood still as the figure walks to them and reveals itself to be Old Man McGucket's son, Conrad "Ranger" McGucket holding a plastic bag. He only wasted a few seconds seeing the matryoshka dolls before he lifted and put them in his bag.

"Hmph, maybe this will work." remarked Conrad, walking to the exit of the forest. "Everybody would be greatly weirded out if my dad brougth anything that has quality anyway."

"_Did he just called us low quality?_" thought an offended Dipper as he was put in the bag.

**(Outside the Forest)**

Conrad comes out of the forest and walks to his car, opening the door and sitting on the driver's seat before closing it. He put the bag containing the shack team at the back seats, the group getting out of them before the car turns on and drives away. Using some other stuff in the seats as platforms, they reach the back windshield to see the forest.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Darn it, he's driving the wrong way!" said Dipper as the card drove away, the image of the forest getting farther and farther away as it left. "And we're going away, and away, and away...we'll definitely need to jump quite a bit before we reach the forest again."

The car hit a bump in the road and the team fell off, hitting the ground and feeling a bit dizzy before they shook it off. "Where is he even taking us to?" asked Soos, looking around as he and the rest got up.

"He's probably going to take us to a place no doll or toy ever comes back, a place where the sight of the sun shining becomes nothing but an illusion, where the nastiest scum of the earth see as nothing more than low-quality toys that were made for their leisure." suggested Wendy with a dramatic tone. "They'll probably grab us, throw us, feed us to the animals or worse! For them, we will be nothing more than objects of entertainment! They'll use us in anyway they can to amuse themselves, and there won't be anything we can do about it!"

Stan, Soos and Dipper look at the teenager with shock before some sniffing is heard, turning around to see Mabel about to cry. "I don't want to be used and abused like a low-quality toy!" cried Mabel, tears flowing down her face as she moved to Stan.

"Good job Wendy, you made my sister cry!" scolded Dipper to Wendy, who was hit by the boy before he jumped to his sister.

"What? I thought some drama would be nice." replied Wendy with a genuinely remorseful tone.

"Don't worry Mabel, we're not going to be low quality toys." told Dipper to his sister while comforting her. "Or at the very least, we won't be abused or used in the way a certain someone implied."

"Well, technically we can't be sure until we arrive to wherever the guy's leading us." spoke Soos. "Seeing that it's ranger McGucket we're talking about, he's probably going to give."

"Thanks Soos, now we have a genuine reason to be concerned!" sarcastically answered Dipper as his sister came out of Stan.

With that said, everybody remained silent as they waited for the car to get to...wherever it was going.

**(Meanwhile, back at the Mystery Shack)**

Valerie and Waddles were at another room, Waddles grabbing and taking out a white bed sheet to show the "remains" of an earlier exhibition: the Cornicorn. Seeing it causes the woman to shout in joy.

"It is the fabled remains of the cornicorn!" exclaimed Valeria in shock, checking out the pony-shaped robotic skeleton as she continued. "I heard that they had eaten it and left only the corn and a funny looking skeleton behind, but to actually see them..."

And then something else caught the woman's attention.

"Umm, Mr. Pig, do you mind?" asks Valerie, earning Waddles attention. "I have to go out for a while, but I'll return as soon as I can to end the tour. Promise!"

Valerie went running to the back door, stopping just as she grabbed the doorknob and turning to see Mabel's staff-sword laying on the wall. "Huh, this could help me a bit." remarked Valerie as she grabbed the hybrid weapon.

After checking the weapon for a moment, the woman opened the door and walked out of the tourist trap, closing the door just as Waddles went running to catch her. Waddles stops just before hitting the door and he stands idle for a few minutes before he continues his aimless wandering.

**(Gravity Falls Flea Market, Parking Lot)**

The ranger's car stopped at the parking lot, the team realizing this and acting like inanimate figures as Conrad opens the door. When he goes to grab the bag, however, he shakes his head and frowns once he spots the shack team out of it, quickly putting them back on before he gets out.

Once out, he sighs before he turns and sees his father, Old Man McGucket, standing behind him with a goofy smile. "Here you go dad, some dolls for the flea market." said Conrad as he handed the old man the bag containing the team.

"Thanks son!" loudly said Old Man McGucket, waving goodbye as Conrad went back to his car and left as soon as he got the chance.

Once the car left, Old Man McGucket used his teeth to grab the bag and then took a doggy-like position, jumping from car to car until he managed to jump over the fence where the market was.

**(At the actual Flea Market)**

Old Man McGucket lands in the middle of the market and he briefly catches the attention of the other people in there, but somebody says "Don't worry, It's just McGucket!" as the man gets up, the people returning to their business as McGucket grabs the bag from his mouth and walks to his booth, "Gucket Artifacts".

Once there he turns the bag upside down, causing the team to fall off and hit the desk as McGucket throws the bag away. McGucket notices the dolls laying around, so he puts them up and next to each other in a big-to-small vertical line. "Huh, he took us to the flea market." remarked Dipper as he looked around.

"NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THE FLEA MARKET!" screamed Stan in horror, with his screams sounding highly similar to a little girl's.

"Well, at least we won't be used as toys here." said Mabel in relief.

"Just wait until you understand the situation! In this place, we'll be sold in relatively low prices that we don't deserve! Who knows what else could go wrong this day?" and then Stan and the rest of the team were overshadowed. "Wait, who's overshadowing me?"

The group turn around and, to their horror, the one overshadowing them was none other than Pacifica Northwest, who fails to notice the shack team looking at her. "Pacifica?!" exclaimed the team in unison.

"Okay I'm a really rich, really bored gal who has nothing better to do other than waste the money my father gave me." started Pacifica as she took out 50 dollars from her pocket. "Tell me good sir...picklefort?"

"Fiddleford McGucket." answered Old Man McGucket proudly.

"Yeah whatever." replied Pacifica, rolling her eyes before she continued. "Sir McGucket, what low to medium quality items do you have today that I can buy?"

"Well, I have the matryoshka dolls you can see in my desk." said McGucket, gesturing to

"I think these ones remind of someone, but I can't quite guess who." remarked the rich blonde as she scratched her chin, turning back to the man once she thought long enough. "I want them, they'll be good things to destroy when I play with Tiffany and Frankie."

"DESTROY?!" exclaimed the horrified shack team.

"How much do they cost?" asked Pacifica as she reached for her pockets.

"There is not a single person who would ever let a rich brat like her buy wooden toys just to destroy them! Nobody's that nuts!" snarled Mabel as she gave the girl a furious glare.

"20 dollars and they're yours!" stated McGucket as Pacifica took out her wallet.

The team's looks changed to frustrated frowns as Pacifica gave Old Man McGucket the money, Pacifica grabbing a bag and putting the shack team inside it one by one. "Then again, McGucket's the one selling us." said Dipper before he too was put in the bag.

After buying the shack team Pacifica walked out of the flea market and went to her family's sedan, a butler opening the door for her so she could go inside. Once in the butler closed the door, and the sedan drove away as the girl remained oblivious to the movement in her bag.

"Well, that didn't went as good as I expected." spoke Dipper, the rest replying with a sarcastic "no, really?" in unison. "But hey, it could have been worse."

"Yeah? How?" asked Stan.

"We could have been brought by Gideon." answered Dipper.

Mabel cringed at the thought, followed by the remaining members of the shack. "That definitely would have been worse."

**(Northwest Manor)**

The sedan arrived at the manor and parked near the entrance, the butler turning the sedan off before he came out and opened the door for Pacifica, who came out as soon as she could. After that the girl went to the entrance, which automatically opened, and she walked to a table with an umbrella just as the entrance automatically closed itself.

Once she arrived at the table, she whistled and catched the attention of two girls relaxing on the spot: one dark-skinned and one redhead. "Hi girls, I brought some new toys for you to destroy." greeted Pacifica, waving her beg as she spoke.

The girls got off their chairs and eyed at the bag with pleased looks. "At last, something new to destroy!" remarked Frankie as Pacifica walked to her and Tiffany. "We were starting to get tired of destroying the Wolfman Bare Chest novels."

"YOU MONSTERS!" screamed Mabel and Wendy in shock.

"So, what exactly did you brought us today?" asked Tiffany.

Pacifica went to the table and turned the bag upside down, shaking it so that the shack team fell down and hit it. "These funny looking things I brought at the flea market." answered Pacifica, scratching her chin and thinking as the girls checked the team out. "I don't really know what they are, but for some reason they remind of someone."

"Matryoshka dolls!" exclaimed Tiffany, leaning closer to the dolls.

"You know what these things are?" asked Pacifica, raising an eyebrow in genuine shock.

"Yeah, my dad made a fortune with these dolls!" replied Tiffany, grabbing Dipper and hugging him as she continued. "Granted, they're not nearly as popular as when I was younger and are only seen occasionally, but nevertheless they still bring me beautiful memories of my past. Do we really have to break them? I have a better idea."

"Vaporize them?" asked Frankie in excitement.

"No, the idea doesn't involve breaking them." the redhead and blonde whined in disappointment as the shack team sighed in relief. Tiffany then took out from her back a small catapult, placing it near the team before she added, "But it does involve a catapult."

Frankie and Pacifica both raised an eyebrow in confusion as the shack team feared for the worst. After a few minutes, the team were thrown by the catapult high enough to go past the manor's fence, with their screams being unheard by the girls.

"Goodbye, magnificent matryoshka dolls." gently voiced Tiffany as she and Frankie waved goodbye at the shack team. "Hopefully you will find a new master to own you, play with you and consider you a good toy for the rest of your usage!"

"Break apart as loudly as possible when you hit the ground!" requested Frankie.

"I'll go find some new toys." snarled Pacifica as she went back to the sedan with a slightly annoyed look on her face.

**(Back with Valerie)**

The woman was finishing adding something on a cave at the forest, putting her hands on her hips and humming proudly once she finished. What she had put was a sign that read "Cave of Matryoshka" in black letters.

"There, that should make this place easier to find." remarked the woman before throwing away the hammer and grabbing the staff-sword. "Now to go in and reclaim what I lost a long time ago."

**(Back with the shack team)**

The team tried to remain calm as they continued to fly across the sky aimlessly, not seeing an end to their flight anytime soon. After a while, they started to descend, and they closed their eyes as they waited for the inevitable fall...and they then landed on top of a truck's load of matryoshka dolls, falling down and only feeling minor discomfort upon hitting the ground.

"At last we land on something, I thought we were going to fly forever!" complained Stan before looking around. His tone changed to confusion once he noticed where they were. "Wait, we're surrounded by other matryoshka dolls? Who would order so many of these things?"

"For that we need to know where we're going. We could be going to the house of an unknown person, or we could be going to the house of one of our biggest enemies...barring Pacifica's, which would be redundant." recapped Dipper, turning to the rest of the team afterwards. "What do you guys think?"

The rest started to think about a possible destination, but for the most part they were unable to think of anything. When Wendy got an idea and was about to speak, Dipper stopped her and let her down gently.

"Sorry Wendy, but we don't need unnecessary drama for the moment." told the boy to the teenager.

Wendy frowned and turned away from the rest as the team continued to think. The truck started to slow down and the other matryoshka dolls shaked for a bit once it stopped altogether, the team jumping to the border and looking down to see where they had landed: the Gleeful residence, much to their complete and utter horror.

"NOOOOOO-!"

**(5 seconds later)**

"OOOOOOO-!"

**(Another 5 seconds later)**

"OOOOOOO!"

By the time the team finished it was too late: they were already being transported to a shooting range in the backyard by Bud, holding the box containing them and other matryoshka dolls. "Wait, why do the Gleefuls have a shooting range in their backyard!?" questioned Dipper.

The team passed a sign reading "approved by Gideon Gleeful", and once they arrived at the range itself, they saw Gideon holding a slingshot and being near a stock filled with rocks. "That more or less explains it." remarked Mabel in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, the matryoshka dolls I ordered have finally arrived! Put them at the range while I check my ammunition." said Gideon, his father obeying his order and placing the team at the range as he checked his rock stock. However, he gestured him to stop once he saw Mabel. "Wait, that one reminds of my dear Mabel."

"I won't let you hurt her!" proclaimed Dipper.

"Relax, Dipper, you must remember that Gideon is totally obsessed with me. I can rest assure you that even if I'm not the Mabel he's used to see, he won't hurt me at all." told Mabel to her brother with a smile.

"Nope, forget it, put her with the others at the shooting range. It's not like she's the real deal anyway." replied Gideon, giving his father a dismissing wave.

Mabel's jaw dropped as Bud walked to the shooting range and got ready to place the girl in it. "Son of your mother!" cursed Mabel as she was put in place near Dipper and Stan.

Now with everybody placed, Gideon grabbed a rock and got ready to throw it, the team hoping for a miracle as the boy grinned maliciously. And then seemingly out of nowhere, a woodpecker flew down and started to mess with his hair, distracting him long enough for the shack to jump off and flee. Gideon shooed the bird and groaned in frustration before throwing away his slingshot, which hit Bud, and walking back home.

"Hooray! The woodpecker saved us!" exclaimed Soos as the bird went to the team, changing his tone to a worried one as the shack team escaped just before the woodpecker attacked them. "Gah! The woodpecker betrayed us!"

The shack team continued to run away even after the woodpecker, jumping to a box filled with some broken toys and catching their breath. Strangely enough, the team didn't seem to notice the broken parts. "Did the woodpecker leave?" asked Mabel. "Are we safe now?"

They then felt the box being grabbed, and they peeked out to see they were being put in the back seats of a car. The door to the backseat closed and the team turned to see a familiar face going to the driver's seat: Mrs. Gleeful.

"Okay, relax." told Mrs. Gleeful to herself, taking a deep breath before she grabbed the hand wheel. "All you have to do is go to the forest, throw away this stuff, and then enjoy as much as you can before you return home."

"The forest!" exclaimed Dipper in joy.

"At last we'll get to turn back to normal!" said Mabel, jumping up and down in excitement.

The team jumped up and down and cheered in joy, catching the attention of Mrs. Gleeful. She looked back and noticed the box, including the shack team standing still like inanimate figures, and shrugged and went back to the driver's seat after checking.

**(At the Forest)**

Mrs. Gleeful parked at the start of the forest and opened the doors, grabbing the bag containing the team and taking it out with her as she left the car. Once out in the wilderness, she swung the box and the items inside were sent flying, the team being lucky enough to land away from the broken dolls. "Ouch!" the team exclaimed once they hit the ground.

The team got up and, with Mrs. Gleeful failing to notice them, left as soon as they could. "Okay, we managed to get back to the forest at last. Let's move on before we end up in outer space or something." remarked Dipper as he lead the way.

"I actually would like to end up in outer space." uttered Mabel with a wide smile.

"Don't test your luck, kid, we have gone through enough already." told Stan to the girl.

The girl started to think about the rest of the day and, with a worried look, she replies "Yeah, you're right." in agreement.

It doesn't take long for the team to arrive at the cave, with them immediately noticing the sign above the entrance. "Dipper, last time you checked the cave, did it had that sign?" asked Mabel.

"Who cares? Let's go inside and find the artifact before anything else happens!" answered the boy, narrowing his expression.

**(Cave of Matryoshka)**

The team went in and followed Dipper to the location of the Doll of Matryoshka, looking at the cave's scenery as Dipper focused on finding the artifact. Once they had arrived to the resting place for the doll, however, they instead found an open path with five mine carts connected to rails. "The artifact is gone!" exclaimed Dipper.

The shack look in horror as they wonder what to do next. They see a white glow occurring deeper into the cave, they see the mine cart and they get an idea of what to do next.

"Come on, everybody! We're going to find that thing no matter what!" proclaimed Dipper as he and the rest went to the small mine carts. "For the Mystery Shack!"

"For the Mystery Shack!" exclaimed the rest once they got on their mine carts.

With that said, the mine carts somehow moved, the team cheering as they went deeper inside. From the shadows, some gnomes appear and see the team have already left with the mine carts, their leader-Jeff-seeing it and getting an angry look in response.

"They won't get to the doll!" stated Jeff with a stern tone.


	3. That's All, Folks!

**(Gnome Forest)**

A single mine cart, one that had Stan in it, appeared and the old-man-turned-matryoshka-doll comes out. He soon somehow opens himself and let's Soos come out, followed by Wendy, Mabel and finally Dipper. Everybody sighed in relief as they searched for the artifact, although Wendy looked a bit disturbed.

"It's a good thing we managed to nest inside each other and then inside Grunkle Stan before we fell from our mine carts, dude." remarked Soos. "And hey, one of your questions were answered, right Wendy?"

"One of my questions was answered, alright." remarked Wendy. "Now let's never do that again, okay?"

An intense, white light suddenly appeared and the team closed their eyes so they wouldn't go blind. Once the light became a little less bright Dipper, and eventually the rest of the team, opened their eyes to see the artifact they were looking for: the Nest of Matryoshka, which looked like a matryoshka doll. Valerie was nearby it, but the team didn't seem to notice her.

"We won't need to do that again, because there's the artifact!" replied Dipper with a tone of joy. Everybody smiled, and sighed in relief in Wendy's case, upon seeing the object and went jumping up and down towards it as fast as they could. "Is it me or was it far easier to get to the artifact than expected?"

And then hundreds of gnomes came out and ambushed the team, effectively surrounding them. They came from the bushes, they came from the trees, they even came from the ground! Though oddly enough, they didn't came out of the eerily similar gnome totem poles.

"Why must it always be the imagination of the hunters! Can't we have a moment when, oh I don't know, reaching the object is actually easier than expected and not just wait until the last minute to reveal it is not as easy as it looks like?"

"You won't take another step! We will defend the queen artifact no matter what!" as Jeff explained himself, Valerie touched the Nest of Matryoshka, getting surrounded by a white light in the process. "Before gnomes existed, there were living matryoshka dolls. These dolls were the progenitors of not only the gnomes, but many other creatures: gremlobins, mermaids, and many other things that have nothing to do with them! When only one of the dolls remained, he immortalized himself by becoming an inanimate figure and cloning himself, in case anything were to happen. The clones self-destructed until only the original one remained. The explosion is a last resort, and if the Nest of Matryoshka dies, so does the rest of the gnomes!"

"That sounds like a poorly thought, nonsensical or simply out of nowhere reason just to give the artifact that much value." remarked Dipper, raising an eyebrow.

"And you sound like a know-nothing know-it-all!" responded Jeff with a scowl. "Gnomes, attack!"

The gnomes leaped for the team as they got surrounded by a white light. They turned back into their original human form, much to the gnomes and the team's surprise. "Wait, how did this happen?" questioned Stan, earning a shrug from Wendy and Soos in response.

"We weren't even close to the Nest of Matryoshka." remarked Mabel.

Dipper looked at his hands for a moment before he saw the gnomes paid more attention to the Nest of Matryoshka, where an inanimate Valerie matryoshka doll rested near it. The Nest of Matryoshka then opened, somehow levitating the Valerie doll inside and closing itself once it went in, glowing with a bright light as it transformed into...more or less the same doll as before, but gnome-themed.

The gnomes rejoiced in response as some of them worked together to lift the doll, taking it deeper into the forest as Jeff spoke.

"With the lost component now back where it belongs, the original artifact has returned! For years, we have cried and weeped for the return, and now that she's back, we can return to praise her and admire her silent but wise nature! Rejoice, fellow gnomes!" Jeff turned to the team one last time before he left with the rest of the gnomes. "And since you didn't do anything, we still hate you!"

Once the gnomes were out of sight, the team stood still for a few minutes before Stan talked. "Well, that was weird." expressed a flabbergasted Stan.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement as they walked to the exit of the forest.

**(The Mystery Shack)**

The team opened the door and Stan sighed in relief after finally getting back home. "Ha! It's good to be back to the Mystery-"

The team were then met with hundreds of satisfied customers running for the door, with a good deal of team having at least one item the shack sold. None of the customers met the team, instead they simply said stuff like "this was an awesome visit!", "let's go here again sometime!" and other positive things.

By the time the costumers had stopped surrounded the team, they looked to see the Shack with only a handful of tourist trap items left, and a huge load of cash on the counter. Stan's reaction at seeing the cash is more confusion than joy as he wondered just what had happened. "Shack?"

However, they got their attention caught once they saw three more people walking to the door with a lot of mystery shack merchandise: Pacifica and her parents. "This was the best visit to the Mystery Shack I've ever had, and it's the first time as well!" remarked Pacifica's mother.

"Mr. Pines, you have outdone yourself by hiring that pig worker!" complimented Pacifica's father.

"Pig worker?" repeated Stan, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "But I don't-"

"Don't be so humble, Mr. Pines, we know you taught him everything! He was just so charismatic! Which now that I say that out loud doesn't sound like you at all." interrupted the woman. "Anyway, I bid farewell and thank you for hiring that pig in the first place!"

Pacifica, wearing a "I heart Mystery Shack" shirt and hat, walked to Mabel and stared at her for a moment.

"I once bought a matryoshka doll that looked like you, but I failed to recognize it as something based on you." told Pacifica to Mabel, who frowned with anger as the rich blonde walked away. "Granted, it was a lot fatter than you, so maybe that's why I didn't find the connection until long after it and the others were catapulted away. I wonder if they broke in pieces?"

Mabel glared at Pacifica as she and her parents left the establishment. "Trust me, breaking in pieces would have been far better than what happened instead." muttered Mabel, who changed to a worried tone once she remembered about the pig worker. "Wait, they mentioned a pig worker. You don't think they're talking about Waddles, do you Grunkle Stan?"

"Hey, here in Gravity Falls, anything can happen." replied Stan as he walked to the living room.

"Now I know how it feels to be a matryoshka doll, and I have felt their pain." stated Wendy, lightly touching her belly before she walked to the exit. "Well, I gotta go back home and relax a bit, I can handle a few ghosts but not being turned into a matryoshka doll. You don't mind, do you Mr. Pines?"

"Wendy, I'm pretty sure that everybody needs to relax after what happened today." replied Stan.

Wendy gave the man a smile and thumbs up before she left the shack for real, and then next to leave was Soos, who waved goodbye before crossing the door. The twins joined Stan as he arrived at the living room, and there they saw Waddles sitting on a pile of money.

"Hahaha, Waddles, dear friend!" exclaimed Stan as he walked to the pig. "I have big plans for you."

"Oh no, Stan's starting to "Stanering", which means he's actually considering making Waddles a mystery shack worker!" said Dipper with a worried tone.

"You're gonna make me a millionaire, pig! Or even better, a super millionaire!" Waddles followed Stan as the two continued to talk, with the old man interpreting Waddles's waddling as speech. "No, not the super hero, although I have to admit the show was a classic. Now come with me, we have a lot of stuff to plan and do!"

The duo left the living room and went upstairs, leaving the twins behind. "Stan's going to make a decision we will all regret, Isn't he?" asked Mabel with a worried tone.

"Unless we do something about it, I believe so." replied Dipper with a more deadpan tone.

The twins stood still for a moment before they shouted "Grunkle Stan" and they started to run upstairs, trying to catch up to the man and pig.

**The End**


End file.
